Peanut Butter Moo'd - Jamba Juice

This is supposedly a Jamba Juice Recipe. Never heard of it until recently. Who goes to Jamba Juice to get a chocolatey drink? ....well now I would! I'm hooked and I love love love it! First I thought it was a little weird, but ooh, it's grown on me!

1 1/2 c. chocolate soy milk
1 Tbs cocoa
1 heaping Tbs peanut butter
1/2-1 frozen banana (or fresh)
4-5 fresh/frozen strawberries (opt.) (The first time we made it without and it was good, the second time with and it was really good...both are good)
2-3 giant scoops vanilla frozen yogurt
1 c ice

Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.

Try it, it's YUMMY! YUMMY! YUMMY! And...it's practically healthy!

Fry Daddy Meets Salad Master

I know the Fry Daddy totally kills all health benefits that the Salad Master promotes, but we just had to try it.

They were tasty, but all that grease!?  The fries were too small to be fries.  Guess it's back to hand cut.

Bonnie Shaffer's Salsa

1 qt whole tomatoes, cut up
1 green pepper, chopped fine
1 onion, chopped fine
1 whole green chili pepper, chopped
1/2 jalapeno (I can't find the tilde), chopped fine
1 T salt
1 T fresh garlic, chopped
1 T vinegar

Mix together and cook 20 minutes. If canning, process 30 minutes. Yield: 2-3 pints

Marinara Spaghetti Sauce

This is a recipe I got long time ago from the McDougall Plan, a book that had heart healthy recipes. I haven't made it for a long time, but I remember that it was really good.

2 onions, chopped
4 coves garlic, crushed
1/2 lb mushrooms, chopped
4 c tomato sauce
2 c canned or fresh tomatoes
2 t oregano
1 t basil
1 1/2 T parsley flakes

Saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms in 1/4 c water until slightly tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes, and spices, breaking up tomatoes with a fork. Simmer over low heat about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Do not cover. Serve over whole wheat spaghetti or vegetable spaghetti.

Helpful Hints: May be made ahead and reheated. Freezes well. May be cooked longer than 1 hour if you like sauces thicker. Also try over whole grains, whole wheat macaroni, or whole wheat shells. This recipe may be doubled easily for guests or to have leftovers to freeze. Makes a good topping for baked potatoes.

Jacque's Potato Leek Soup

This one of our favorite soups. First I'll post Jacque's version and then my thickened version.

4 c chicken stock or broth
1 c diced potatoes
1 med onion, diced
1 leek, diced
3 T flour
1/4 c butter
2 c milk
salt and white pepper

Bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add potatoes, onions and leeks. Reduce heat and simmer, covered until the vegetables are tender.

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not let the mixture brown.

Heat the milk and add it to the butter and flour mixture, whisking until the mixture is smooth and slightly thickened.

Add the stock and vegetables.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley, dried or fresh.

Now, my version that is a thicker soup:

4 c chicken stock or broth
2 c diced potatoes
1 med onion, diced
1 leek, diced
1/2 c butter (actually 1/4 c butter, 1/4 c canola oil)
6 T flour
2 c milk
salt and white pepper

Bring the chicken stock to a boil Add potatoes, onions and leeks. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. Mash with potato masher to make a smooth consistency.

Melt butter and oil in saucepan, stir in flour until bubbly. Add milk and cook until thick (make a white sauce).

Add the stock and vegetables.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato Basil Cream Soup

I was looking for something to make for dinner the other night that would use things from our garden (tomatoes, leeks, basil) and made this yummy soup. It's from the Southern Living Complete Quick and Easy Cookbook, page 40.

4 shallots, diced (I just used a white onion)
2 garlic cloves (I just used one because McKay's not too hot on garlic)
1 celery rib (I didn't have one because it's supposed to be high on pesticides)
1/2 lb leeks, chopped
2 T oil (I used olive)
2 (14 1/2-oz) cans Italian-style tomatoes, undrained and chopped (I used fresh peeled)
1 T dried basil (I used 2 T fresh, chopped)
2 (14-oz) cans chicken broth (I used homemade turkey broth with boullion added)
1/4 t salt (I omitted this because the boullion has salt)
1 C whipping cream (I used 1% milk because I had no cream)
Garnishes: lemon slices, fresh basil sprigs

1. Cook first 4 ingredients in hot oil in a Dutch oven over low heat, stirring often, 20 to 12 minutes or until tender. (Do not brown.) Add tomatoes and dried basil; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 10 min. Add broth and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. (I didn't simmer it because I ran out of time.) Cool.
2. Process mixture, in batches, in a food processor or blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides.
3. Heat in Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in 1 cup whipping cream; cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly heated. (Do not boil.) Garnish if desired.

Cabbage Tacos and Fresh Salsa

My friend, Tiffany Litster put this recipe in an old ward cookbook.  I forgot about it for a while, but made it today with some variations.


Meat:
Cook a 2-3 pound roast (I used a nice sirloin-something-or-other roast that I should have saved for Sunday dinner, but you could use a cheaper roast) in the Crock Pot with a small can of green enchilada sauce and 1/2 t. garlic salt all day (first 2 hours on high, the rest of the time on low).  When it's ready to shred, a couple hours before dinner, shred the meat in all the juice, then let it keep on cooking.


Fresh Salsa:
This is a variation of a canned salsa in the BHG book. I don't really measure.

3-4 tomatoes, diced
a little jalapeno (as desired)
a little bell pepper
a little onion
some cilantro (1 T chopped up?)
1 small clove of garlic
1/4? t salt
some pepper
sprinkle with white wine vinegar
Kind of smash it up a bit with a spoon

Extra Toppings:
Chopped cabbage
Sour cream
Hot sauce
Cheese
Avocado
Cilantro
Black beans


Serve on 6" white corn tortillas.  The meat probably makes around 3 dozen 6" tacos; you'll want to double or triple the salsa if you're going to eat that many!


(I'm considering adding a little brown sugar to the meat to sweeten it up a bit.  The garlic salt in the meat was also an addition this time.)

Homemade Baby Wipes

1/2 big roll of Viva or Bounty paper towels (I use the big Basic Bounty rolls, 78 sheets, one ply) *Cut roll in half using a serrated knife

Combine:
1 1/2 c hot water
2 Tbs baby bath (or just baby wash)
1 Tbs baby oil

Place the 1/2 roll of paper towels in a large plastic container with a lid. Pour water mixture down through the center of the towels and let it absorb the water (a couple hours). Once it's all wet, pull the cardboard centerpiece out. Pull paper towel wet wipes through the center of the roll.

This is so easy and I really like them! I feel like both Hyrum and Jane get diaper rash less when I use these.

*I got this exact recipe at my doctor's office.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos and Black Beans

Okay, so my picture doesn't look that amazing. But we think these are pretty darn good. I got both recipes from Our Best Bites, one of my favorite sites these days :) Usually I'm not a corn tortilla fan, but I DID like these!
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/04/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos/
and beans:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/07/quick-and-easy-black-beans/

Chicken Thighs and Sauce

This is a recipe I got at Jacque's the last time I visited her. I also use the sauce for rice bowls, it is so good!

1 T cornstarch
1 T cold water
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c soy sauce
1/4 c cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t pepper

12 chicken thighs

Combine cornstarch, water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and pepper in quart saucepan and simmer until thick.

425 degree oven

9 x 13 glass dish

Place skinless thighs in baking dish and brush with sauce.

Bake 30 min. Turn chicken and bake another 30 minutes. You may want to loosely cover the chicken the last 15-20 minutes to avoid burning.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

We think these are really really good! I LOVE the frosting!!! They are pretty blueberry-y, and you could probably use less.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Makes about 16-18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided

¾ cup cake flour

1½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. lemon juice

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. milk, at room temperature

2 cups fresh blueberries

For the frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Zest of 1 large lemon

Additional fresh blueberries, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the ¾ cup all-purpose flour, the cake flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice. With the mixer on low speed, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Blend in the milk. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Using a spatula gently fold the berries into the cake batter. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about ¾ full (I use an ice cream scoop to scoop my batter into the cups). Bake 10-12 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake an additional 10-12 minutes. Cupcakes are done when they begin to have a golden tint on the edges or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool for about a minute before removing the cupcakes from the pan and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Sometimes ½ more confectioners’ sugar is needed to get the consistency you desire. Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish with fresh blueberries.

Honey-Sauced Chicken Wings

We had the Honey-Sauced Chicken Wings the other night on page 36 of the crock-pot book. It was good, but nothing special. I'd rather have stir-fry or something with veggies and such. The flavor was good, but not my favorite.